Pop: Suns ‘robbed’ after ‘pathetic’ play by Spurs
SAN ANTONIO — The coach for the winning team doesn’t typically lament the fate of the ousted, but that’s what Gregg Popovich did after the San Antonio Spurs edged Phoenix 126-124, saying the Suns “got robbed,” while his Spurs put together “a pathetic performance.”
Just minutes after Rudy Gay drilled a buzzer beater to lift the Spurs to 29-22, Popovich addressed the media for 27 seconds, and used them all to rip his team before walking away without taking any questions.
“We were really fortunate to win the game,” Popovich said. “I thought that they outplayed us, outcoached us [were more physical], out executed us. We had no respect for them or for the game. We didn’t play with each other. It was a pathetic performance and Phoenix got robbed.”
After losing its previous four games by an average of 23 points, Phoenix tied this one with 19.6 seconds remaining. Devin Booker stole a pass from Marco Belinelli and fed Josh Jackson for an uncontested dunk to make it 124-all.
With time winding down, Gay was isolated and hit a jumper as the clock expired to help San Antonio avoid an upset.
The Spurs entered allowing 109.7 points per game, 13th in the NBA, and struggled to contain the Suns.
Phoenix had six players score in double figures, including 22 points by Jamal Crawford.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.